Weekend College Top 10: La Roche men achieve perfection

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Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend:

1. La Roche men’s basketball makes conference history

Austin Hannes (Knoch) scored 16 points, helping the Redhawks rout Penn State Altoona, 95-61, on Saturday and become the first team in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference history to go 18-0 in league play. Caden Kryz added 15 points for La Roche (23-2 overall), which will host the conference tournament this weekend.

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2. Saint Vincent’s Kromka eclipses milestone

Tom Kromka (Gateway) scored 20 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead the Saint Vincent men to an 80-73 win against Chatham on Saturday. The Bearcats (21-4, 14-2) earned the top seed for the PAC Tournament and will host eighth-seeded Thiel (7-18, 5-11) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. Isaiah Brown had a game-high 26 points for the Cougars (16-9, 9-7), who completed the best regular season in the four-year history of the program. Chatham is the fourth seed for the conference tournament and hosts fifth-seeded Washington & Jefferson (10-15, 8-8) on Tuesday.

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3. No. 1 Penn State completes undefeated Big Ten season

The Nittany Lions won eight of 10 matches en route to a 39-9 victory over No. 19 Illinois on Sunday, clinching the regular-season conference title. Top-ranked Jason Nolf (Kittanning) won by injury default at 157 pounds, and top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (Central Catholic) earned a major decision at 165 for Penn State (13-0, 9-0).

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4. Grove City men’s swimming unseats Westminster as PAC champ

Ben Slate earned his third straight title in the 200 breaststroke, helping the Wolverines end the Titans’ four-year reign as the swimming and diving champions. Grove City, which earned its 19th crown overall, had 948 points. Westminster was second with 864, followed by Saint Vincent with 619. The Bearcats’ Jacob Davis (Brashear), who won the 100 free and 200 free, was named PAC Swimmer of the Year for the second straight season. Westminster’s Connor May earned PAC Diver of the Year after winning the 1- and 3-meter.

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5. Westminster women earn 1st PAC swimming title since 2007

Carolyn Novak (Upper St. Clair) took first in the 100, and Maggie Manolis won the 200 breaststroke, helping the Titans rally in the PAC championships Saturday at Grove City. Westminster finished with 906 points, and the Wolverines were second with 878. Grove City’s Anne Shirley Dassow, who won the 100 fly, 50 free and 200 fly, was named PAC Swimmer of the Year for the third straight season. PAC Diver of the Year went to Grove City’s Reilly Diggins (Quaker Valley).

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6. Allegheny men win on late basket

Brian Roberts Jr. made a layup with 4 seconds left as the Gators defeated Kenyon, 76-75, on Saturday to give the team double-digit wins for the first time since 2014-15. Roberts finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Jordan Rawls (Allderdice) had 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Allegheny (10-14, 6-12) visits Wooster in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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7. Slippery Rock men avoid upset vs. Clarion

Vinny Lasley made an open layup off a pass from Nolen Gerald with 10 seconds left, lifting The Rock past the Golden Eagles, 61-60, on Saturday in the PSAC. Slippery Rock (18-7, 15-3), which moved closer to clinching a first-round bye in the conference tournament, struggled offensively throughout the game, making 22 of 61 field goals (36.1 percent). But The Rock held Clarion (5-17, 3-14) scoreless for the final 8 minutes, 9 seconds of the first half, and they held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for a stretch of 11:38 in the second half. John Warren II led Slippery Rock with 13 points, and RJ Laugand had 13 for Clarion.

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8. No. 15 Pitt wrestling slips past Duke

Heavyweight Demetrius Thomas’ technical fall in the final match propelled the No. 15 Panthers to a 20-19 triumph Friday in the ACC. Pitt improved to 12-3 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

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9. Pitt baseball opens with victory in Bell’s debut

Dan Hammer struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings, helping the Panthers down Villanova, 7-2, on Friday in Kissimmee, Fla., in coach Mike Bell’s first game. Cole MacLaren and Alex Amos had two RBIs apiece for Pitt, which lost its next three games over the weekend.

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10. Cal (Pa.)’s Means continues to shine in 200 meters

Jae’Len Means (Gateway) broke his school record in the 200 meters for the second straight week, finishing in 21.45 seconds Saturday at the Kent State Tune Up. Means took second in a field of more than 75 runners. He also placed fourth in the 60.

Jeff Vella is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jvella@tribweb.com or via Twitter .

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